The Stress During The Past Year

Stress is described as a psychological and psychological and physical strain or tension generated by physical, emotional, social, economical or occupation circumstances, events, or experience that are difficult to manage or endure (Andrew M. Colman, 2015). Stress can affect all aspects of your life, which include your emotional, behaviours thinking ability, and psychical health (webmd, 2016). More than one in five Australian have reported mental health issue as a source of stress (psychology, 2014).

When placed in situations that cause stress or anxiety, the body initiates sympathetic activity. This is accomplished by the adrenaline response, otherwise known as “fight or flight”. This response is protective and occurs very quickly, it gives rise to an increase in metabolic activity, heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure. In situations of chronic stress and emotional disturbances,

“Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances”. It is generally known as “pattern of disruptive physiological and psychological reaction to events that threaten the ability to cope” (Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2017).

You would normally define stress as: last minute papers, a pile of unpaid bills, bumper to bumper traffic and so forth. However, these are just scenario stressors- examples of stressful events and circumstances.

Stress is a psychological term that occurs when an individual perceives that environmental demands exceed his or her adaptive capacity.

Stress is a physical, mental, or emotional stimuli that causes bodily or mental tension. People often associate stress as experiencing feelings of anxiety. People who go through stress often report feeling overwhelmed and edgy. Stress can be

[the] body's reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response. Stress can come from any situation or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, nervous, or anxious. Stress is caused by an existing stress-causing factor or "stressor." (about health .com. Updated June 05, 2014)

When exposed to environmental threats, the body’s immune system carries out dynamic processes through the secretion of various chemicals and production of various kinds of cells, to maintain homeostasis. Whether the stressor is acute or chronic, research now indicates that psychological stress has a strong connection to immune system functioning,

Stress is the emotional and physiological reaction to a stimulus, or stressor. Therefore, a stressor is any stimulus or threat that elicits an emotional and physiological reaction such as fear or anxiety.

This is because when corticosteroids are released into the body they stop the production of lymphocytes, which leads to the thymus gland shrinking. The thymus gland is then unable to produce t-cells which play an important role in the immune system and preventing illness (T. Fowler 2015). Short term immunosuppression is not dangerous to the body, when someone is stressed short term they are more likely to fall ill with not so serious illnesses such as catching a cold or flu, suffering with headaches, and even just generally feeling run down. These are an indirect effect of stress because of immunosuppression. However long term immunosuppression will leave the body open to infections and diseases (Cardwell, Clark and Meldrum 2000) such as coronary heart disease, ulcers, and other stomach problems. This has been proven by a study conducted on medical students, they were required to give blood sample 1 month before and immediately after their exams. The results were that the naturel killer (NK) cell activity was dramatically reduced in the blood samples taken after the exams, this was even lower for participants who reported stressful life events and loneliness. This study is

Psychological stress is a ubiquitous facet of life, which is onset by the recognition of a stimulus and prompts a reaction in the brain to counteract the effect of stress and maintain homeostasis. A multitude of studies have proven that there is a correlation between psychological stress and the presence of an immune disorder. Psychological stress is induced in various ways and is able to manifest within oneself if no relaxation techniques are implemented; moreover, disorders such as: heart disease, diabetes and asthma are developed by psychological stress. Finally, recent research has suggested that an improvement of the immune system is observed when relaxation techniques are implemented regularly to relieve psychological stress.

Stress is the feeling of intense pressure which people feel when they are depended upon to perform actions which overwhelm them. It is defined as "a response to a demand that is placed upon you" (Managing 2013). People's responses to stress can be

Chronic stress can also interfere with the body’s immune system directly through hormonal changes. Glucocorticoids-a hormone

So what is stress? Stress is a normal physical response that happens when you feel threatened or upset. When you feel that you are in danger whether it is real or imaged. Your body has a response when stress occurs and it is a way of actually protecting you. Many times, stress helps people stay more focussed and energetic.

The external component of the Biopsychosocial Model of stress involves environmental events that precede the recognition of stress and can elicit a stress response. A previously mentioned, the stress reaction is elicited by a wide variety of psychosocial stimuli that are either physiologically or emotionally threatening and disrupt the body's homeostasis (Cannon, 1932). We are usually aware of stressors when we feel conflicted, frustrated, or pressured. Most of the common stressors fall within four broad categories: personal, social/familial, work, and the environment. These stressful events have been linked to a variety of psychological physical complaints. For example bereavement